INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 129, No. 33
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2012
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
C.U.Among Best at Producing Lobbyists By MARGARET YODER Sun Staff Writer
Cornell was recently ranked 13th among U.S. universities for the number of graduates who are federally-registered revolving-door lobbyists, according to a list published by the Center for Responsive Politics — a distinction several professors said should not merit praise. The Center for Responsive Politics — a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. — recently published a list of 26 colleges that had produced the largest number of lobbyists who, as of 2011, were registered with the federal government. The list was published on the center’s blog Opensecrets.org. Four of the top five schools on the list are located in the Washington, D.C. area, and five Ivy League schools — including Cornell — dominate the list. Revolving-door lobbyists start out working for the government before transitioning to careers in the private sector. But once they leave their posts to lobby on behalf of a private business, these people often use professional relationships they built in the government to influence policy, according to Prof. Mildred Sanders, government. “Lobbyists who have previously worked for government are often viewed as people who know the system and how to work it — which is just what their clients want,” Viveca Novak, editorial and communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, said in an email. But this game “certainly can be a bad thing” in U.S. policymaking, Sanders said in an email. Sanders, who said that Congress, the defense department and other federal regulatory agencies are frequently lobbied by former employees, called the effect these lobbyists have on the government “undesirable.” Prof. Theodore Lowi, government, echoed Sander’s negative feelings toward revolving-door politics. “I’d be very happy if we were in the bottom [of the list] … because to me, it is a comedown to a place like Cornell,” he said. Criticizing the potential conflict of interest that surrounds political lobbying today, Lowi recalled the profession’s origins. When the practice began in the U.S. government in the 19th Century, lobbyists See LOBBYISTS page 4
SHAILEE SHAH / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
May I have your attention please | City of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 held a media conference at City Hall Wednesday to explain his proposed budget for 2013.
Mayor:Plan Will Erase $3M Deficit By MATTHEW ROSENSPIRE Sun Staff Writer
Hoping to confront Ithaca’s “fiscal crisis,” Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 presented his plan to balance the city’s budget at a press conference Tuesday. Myrick’s proposed 2013 budget would close the city’s $3 million deficit through a combination of revenue increases, staff cuts and bureaucratic reorganization. In his call for a balanced solution to the deficit, Myrick noted
that advancing solely spending cuts would have required a 10-percent reduction in city staff. Conversely, only raising taxes would have required a 15-percent increase for taxpayers, according to Myrick. After holding three public meetings about the 2013 budget, Myrick proposed leaving 25 currently unfilled city positions vacant — a reduction the mayor believes is manageable. Of these vacancies, 12 were the result of the city’s retirement incentive, which
Campus Politicos View Debate With Critiques,Snark By EMMA COURT Sun Senior Writer
Snarky comments, indignant looks and laughter abounded at the Cornell Democrats’ viewing of Wednesday night’s presi-
dential debate between Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, his Republican challenger. As the candidates squared off, a majority of the two dozen people
crammed into the small living room stared intently at the television screen, munching on Cheetos and occasionally glancing at their smartphone keyboards for a quick tweet about the proceedings.
COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
Going head to head | President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, his Republican challenger, squared off in the first presidential debate Wednesday night in Denver, Colo.
Occasionally, topics on the screen were apparently so incendiary that fervent, hushed discussion broke out. No official viewing event was held by the Cornell Republicans, though this did not preclude members of that organization from forming their own sharply held beliefs about the debate. “I think Romney won the debate by a landslide. He was able to respond directly to the questions, and he gave specific examples with each of his answers,” said Jess Reif ’14, chair of the Cornell Republicans. “I feel like Obama relied on ideology more than evidence to support his conclusions.” The Cornell Democrats, meanwhile, also responded to many of Romney’s answers with contempt and, often, sarcasm. As the two candidates started off the debate by
crossing the stage and shaking hands, parallel in tall suits, red tie meeting blue tie, laughter broke out and one Cornell Democrat described the encounter as “super awkward.” That adjective resurfaced again and again about interactions between the candidates. Director of Public Relations for the Cornell Democrats Max Schechter ‘14 explained why the onstage interactions between the candidates seemed disingenuous at times. “Clearly, these two guys spend 24 hours a day explaining why the other shouldn’t be president, and then they had to pretend just for a moment that they were friends,” Schechter said. “It just seemed very forced.” Members of the Cornell Democrats also defended Obama when See DEBATE page 5
offered $11,000 or five years of fixed health insurance costs for any city employee who retired between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011. Myrick said he expects cutting the empty posts will save the city approximately $1.6 million. Another three employees, however, will be laid off — two from the fire department and one from the planning department, for an additional savings of $159,000. Other city employees will face reductions See BUDGET page 4
News Life on the Edge
Prof. Byron Suber, dance, founded a new dance company this month. | Page 3
Dining Prelim and Yogurt Crazy
Sarah McKeen ’13 discusses the best fast food options for when prelim season stress starts to pile up. | Page 8
Arts Anything but Quiet
The Sun reviews Flying Lotus’ new album Until the Quiet Comes, a twitchy, electronic masterpiece. | Page 9
Sports Game, Set, Match
Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams prepare to match up against their Ivy League foes this weekend. | Page 16
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